California Briefing / San Diego

Smuggling boat is intercepted

Twenty-one suspected illegal immigrants were discovered on an overcrowded Mexican fishing vessel 33 miles off the San Diego coast Thursday morning, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.

A private boat operator encountered the 25-foot vessel about 11:30 a.m. and contacted the Coast Guard, which sent a patrol cutter and a helicopter to intercept the vessel. Six of the suspected immigrants were women; one was pregnant, officials said.

The incident was the latest in a spate of maritime smuggling attempts, as immigrants take to the seas to avoid increased border enforcement efforts on land, according to U.S. authorities.